Traditional Technologies Program
The Traditional Technologies program plans, implements, and supports two types of travel and research seminars:
- Organized international travel by a select group of Native and/or Hispano artists/scholars and non-Native anthropologists to communities in Latin America that continue to practice traditional craft traditions and lifeways.
- Organized domestic travel by Native American and Hispano scholars to U.S. museums to study Southwestern archaeological and ethnographic collections.
One seminar will be offered annually, alternating between the museum-based and cross-cultural exchange programs. The program supports all travel-related costs for
he participants.
Funded Trips
Upcoming 2023 Museum Travel Seminar
In the fall of 2023, Diné weavers Barbara Teller Ornelas and Lynda Teller Pete will lead a group of six Diné weavers to Washington, D.C. to study historic and contemporary collections of Navajo textiles. These master weavers, educators, and emerging artists will visit the National Museum of the American Indian, the National Museum of Natural History, and the Textile Museum to learn more about the past and collaborate on a plan for the future of Diné voices, views, and artistic efforts in Diné weaving. The organizers will use this newfound knowledge to educate the tribal, local, and global public, and to engage Diné youth, disfranchised Diné, and their own community of artists to share experiences and create opportunities for artistic growth.
Upcoming 2024 International Travel Seminar
In January 2024, a group of indigenous Southwestern potters and non-Native ceramics scholars will travel to the Valley of Oaxaca, Mexico, to study the traditional pottery traditions of this region. The trip will be organized and guided by Eric Mindling of Traditions Mexico, an Oaxaca-based travel company with years of experience working with traditional indigenous potters. As the time of this writing, the participant list and itinerary are still being finalized.
Future Trips and Funding Opportunities
International travel seminars will be held in even-numbered years, with the theme and participants selected by the Traditional Technologies committee.
Museum travel seminars will be held in odd-numbered years, with awards based on selected proposals. Beginning in 2025, and every two years thereafter, proposals will be accepted between January 1 and February 15 for an organized group of up to six Native or Hispano artists/scholars to travel to one or more U.S. museums to study Southwestern collections. One proposal will be selected for funding each cycle.
For program information and proposal instructions, click here.
For additional information, contact the chairs of the AAHS Traditional Technology committee: